WASHINGTON -
Following a weekend when the Hoyas traveled to Richmond, Va., to open the 2014 outdoor track & field season, Georgetown earned two nods from the BIG EAST Conference today as All-American Dylan Sorensen (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) was named the Male Track Athlete of the Week and Eghosa Aghayere (Henrietta, N.Y./Rush Henrietta Sperry) was tabbed the Male Field Athlete of the Week. The Hoyas competed at the Fred Hardy Invitational hosted at Robins Stadium by the University of Richmond on Friday and Saturday.

Sorensen opened the 2014 outdoor season with a win in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, clocking in at 8:56.51, setting a meet record. Sorensen led a trio of Hoyas through the finish line as Matt Howard (Blacksburg, Va./Blacksburg) and Max Darrah (South Yarmouth, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth Regional) finished second (8:57.30) and third (9:06.14), respectively. Sorensen's time is currently the best time recorded in the league and the fourth-best in the country.

"It felt great," Sorensen responded when asked about the race to open the season. "We haven't done much work with the steeple but we've been training hard all year and outdoor track is our main focus. It felt great to come out firing on all cylinders. All three of us who were in the race had a great performance so we were really happy to start the season with that."

Sorensen qualified for the final site of the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the steeplechase but fell just shy of making the finals, still earning Second Team All-America status. Sorensen is looking to improve upon last year's finish and earn points for his team at this year's championship - if this start is any indication as to how his season will go, that goal is certainly within reach.

Aghayere was named the BIG EAST Male Field Athlete of the Week after opening the season with a personal best to win the men's triple jump at the Fred Hardy Invitational. His mark of 15.39m (50'6") bests his previous record of 15.21m, set at the 2013 BIG EAST Outdoor Championships where he finished sixth. Aghayere's distance climbs to the top of the BIG EAST's list and is the eighth-best mark in the country.

"It was really great to go out there and take care of business early in the season," Aghayere said. "My focus this season is on regionals and nationals - but, I also want to set some new personal goals. I always said that once I made 50 feet, I'd be ready to walk away but now that I've hit that, I need a new goal.

"This is my final season and I really want to leave it all out there."

This is the first time for Sorensen to win the honor while it is Aghayere's second nod in his career.

The Hoyas continue the outdoor season on April 4- 5 with three different meets on the schedule: the Cardinal Invitational (Palo Alto, Calif.), the Florida Relays (Gainesville, Fla.) and the Colonial Relays (Williamsburg, Va.)